In the long-term project Death and Birth in My Life two people talk to each other about their experiences of birth and death–they are filmed both talking and listening, so you can see both the narrating and listening faces on two monitors at the same time. As a video installation in theatre spaces, it creates a communal, immersive experience. Siting in small circles you will have the impression of being with the participants–a small group of strangers who meet to listen to stories, in a suspended time where you can allow yourself to reflect on endings and new beginings.

So far, Mats Staub has recorded 85 conversations in Europe and Africa and for each local installation he then makes a specific selection of films that create connections for the viewers to different regions of the world. With his work, he wants to create a space that enables empathy, participation and connection and encourages and frames talking about one's own experiences. A place that allows painful feelings and talking about things that are otherwise excluded, and in the best case also offers the experience of consolation.

Death and Birth in My Life | Trailer

Press

"Showing speaker and listener simultaneously on two screens, the installation inserts us at the heart of these deeply personal conversations, creating an absorbing oasis of reflection."
The Guardian, 20.9.2019

"Stories that get under your skin and touch your heart. The form is an absorbing one that allows scope for one's own thoughts and memories. Mats Staub presents us with a gift: the art of listening."
bz Basel, 06.06.2019

"Listening is the essential ingredient in any conversation. Allowing what we hear to hover in mid-air frees us from instant comments and conventional responses. Nothing gets talked to death. The essential theme of the evening is the question: How do we talk to each other?"
ProgrammZeitung Basel, 30.05.2019

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Stations

2024

Ravenna

Polis Teatro Festival

2022

Santarcangelo

Santarcangelo Festival

Cividale del Friuli

Mittelfest

Milan

Zona K

2021

Munich

Spielart Festival

Dublin

Dublin Theatre Festival

Bern

Museum of Communication

Basel

diverse Wohnzimmer

2020

Chur

Theater Chur

Groningen

Noorderzomerprogramma

Salzburg

Salzburg Museum, Sonderedition zu '100 Jahre Salzburger Festspiele'

Avignon

Festival d'Avignon, 74. Édition

Makhanda

National Arts Festival

Basel

Kaserne

2019

Frankfurt

Künstlerhaus Mousonturm

Munich

Spielart Festival

Manchester

Sick! Festival

Paris

Centre culturel suisse

Perg

Festival der Regionen

Hannover

Festival Theaterformen

Basel

Kaserne

Credits

Concept, Direction

Mats Staub

Camera

Benno Seidel, Matthias Stickel

Scenography

Monika Schori

Dramaturgical Associate

Simone von Büren, Elisabeth Schack

Research

Tim Harrison (Manchester); Maia Marie (Magaliesburg); Patrick Mudekereza (Lubumbashi); Dada Kahindo (Kinshasa); Marcus Rehberger (Basel); Nele Beinborn (Frankfurt); Wolfram Sander (Hannover); Leo Saftic (Perg); Celya Larré (Paris); Peter Husty (Salzburg); Naomi Fall, Franziska Jenni (Bamako); Justin Murphy (Dublin); Federica Di Rosa (Milano)

Technical Direction

Hanno Sons, Stefan Göbel

Postproduction

Benno Seidel

Translation, Subtitles

Nathalie Rouanet, Françoise Guiguet, Simona Weber, Martin Thomas Pesl, Cinzia Schincariol, Matthias Stickel, Benno Seidel

Production Management

Barbara Simsa, Pearl Herbert

Production

zwischen_produktionen

Co-produktion

Kaserne Basel, Künstlerhaus Mousonturm Frankfurt, SICK! Festival Manchester, Festival Theaterformen Hannover, Festival der Regionen, Spielart Festival München, Centre culturel suisse Paris, Migros-Kulturprozent

Funding

Fachausschuss Tanz und Theater BS/BL, Pro Helvetia Schweizer Kulturstiftung, Christoph Merian Stiftung, Ernst Göhner Stiftung

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